Zippers are well-known mechanisms for closing various articles including clothing, hand bags, luggage, sporting and camping gear, and many other articles. The major structure of a typical zipper consists of two rows of protruding teeth, which may be made to interdigitate, linking the rows. Each row may carry from tens to hundreds of specially shaped metal or plastic teeth. These teeth can be either individual or shaped from a continuous coil, and are also referred to as elements. A hand-operated slider moves along the rows of teeth. Inside the slider, a Y-shaped channel meshes together or separates the opposing rows of teeth, depending on the slider's direction of movement. The word zipper is onomatopoetic, because it was named for the sound the device makes when used, a high-pitched zip.
FIGS. 1A-1E illustrate prior art zippers and their various components. FIG. 1A shows zipper 10, which includes two rows 11 and 12 of interlocking teeth 11′ and 12′, respectively. The rows 11 and 12 are attached or held in place on tape 13 and 14, respectively. The teeth terminate in top stops 15 and bottom stops 16. Slider body 17, to which is hingeably-affixed pull tab 18 is used mesh together or separate the rows 11 and 12 of teeth. The pull tab 18 is held in place by crown 19, which is affixed to the slider 17. The tape 13 and 14 are attached, for example by sewing, to an opening in an article. FIG. 1B illustrates how the teeth 11′ and 12′ of the zipper 10 mesh and separate during operation of the slider body 17. FIG. 1C presents an oblique view of the slider body 17. FIG. 1D illustrates an alternate zipper 10′, which a molded tooth version of the zipper of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1E shows operation of the slider body 17.